5 Minute Grain Free Breakfast Brownies {and why I don’t bake/cook with almond flour}

I’ve been perfecting the 5-minute brownie recipe for a few weeks now. The early versions seemed a little unpredictable, a little dry, and missing depth…kinda like my last date. Just kidding! (Kind of).

Anyway, after several tries, I finally got a batch that was perfect…so I tried it one more time to make sure. It stresses me out a bit to share recipes that I’ve made up because I want people to like them, and to know that healthy and quality ingredients can be delicious. Like I mentioned yesterday, there’s a lot of variation between brands of flours, sweeteners, and cocoa powder! This means you always need to taste the batter and adjust amounts of things (yes, I know there are raw eggs…but buy cage free farm eggs and you don’t need to worry about the salmonella thing).

I’ve got another big idea for these babies, but I am lacking an important ingredient and one of my beloved kitchen tools that will make it prettier… so I’ll save that secret for later!

Also, I’m calling these breakfast brownies, but please eat them at all hours of the day and night. And feel good about it 🙂

Breakfast Brownies

2 Tbsp coconut flour
3 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp protein powder (I used Jay Robb vanilla egg white protein powder)
1 egg
2 Tbsp cocoa powder (I used unprocessed, unsweetened cacao powder. Hershey’s Special Dark is a good one to start with if you’re new to cacao)
1/4 tsp stevia (I can’t stand the brand I have right now—I’m out of NuNaturals and can’t find it here!)
2 tsp maple syrup (I finally found grade B maple syrup! I’m not big on sugar at all, but I am compromising this time!)
pinch salt (optional)
pinch cinnamon (optional)

Melt your coconut oil in a skillet on medium (or medium-low if your stovetop is volcanic like mine is). Mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl. Add most of the melted coconut oil (leave the last bit, up to a tablespoon, in the pan and swirl it around).

Your batter will be pretty oily! This is good—the healthy fats may just make you a super hero!

Make the batter into small circular “brownies” and place in the pan. Flatten a little–they won’t spread on their own. Cook until just barely done on the bottom and then flip. Cook until the second side is just barely done, and then remove from the heat—if you over cook them, they aren’t as good! Gooey in the middle wins!

 

If you try them let me know! I’m gonna post more instagram food pics I’ve been tagged in tomorrow—lots of coconut flour flatbread being made out there in the world!

One thing that people ask me all the time is why I use coconut flour instead of things like almond flour or oat flour. The main answer is because even though it’s processed (by nature of drying the coconut and grinding it into flour), there’s nothing weird in it, it’s super stable at all temperatures, and it’s very high in fiber. I don’t bake or cook with almond flour much (although I have added a Tbsp here or there to some recipes, like the coconut flour cupcakes…but I’m thinking it’s not really necessary there either, and I’ll update you on that soon!). Almond flour is high in Omega-6 fatty acids, which are very unstable when heated (so never use or cook with things like canola or vegetable oil either!!). When you heat up the almond flour, it likely is going “rancid” and you’re just ingesting free radicals. Yes, that’s bad and you don’t want it! I use almond flour mostly for unheated things, like crusts for desserts that are glued together with other yummy stuff. I don’t use things like oat flour because I just don’t eat many grains. I don’t want the carbs—they make me ill, and coconut flour doesn’t because it’s super low in carbs (fiber doesn’t count, and coconut flour can be around 60%, depending on the brand). So while I don’t think there are a lot of redeeming nutrients in coconut flour (the oil has been removed), it works to make my meals more delicious without adding junk or bad stuff.

I’m also finding that all the bites, cookies, brownies, and breads I’ve been making help me to increase my coconut oil intake (a therapeutic dose is 3-4 Tbsp a day). I thrive best on a super high fat diet (up to 70% some days), but it’s not always easy to eat that much fat from great sources (I also eat a lot of butter from grass fed cows, avocados, and get fat from meat too). I’m going to go into my habits much more in a post soon—and do a “day of eats” for those of you who asked for it. I want to do a good job on it, so that’s why it’s taking me a long time to put it together!

News/Notes: It’s a beautiful day! Like always. I have quite a bit of work to do, and I’m cleaning and doing laundry today. I did go to a yoga class, and I think I will tomorrow morning too. Then I’m taking Sunday off when we go to Fallbrook. By the way, there’s an avocado festival in Fallbrook (near San Diego) in April….Who is coming with me?!?!? I love that area because you can stop on the side of the road and buy 25 avocados for $5! Here they cost the same in Whole Foods and at farmer’s markets as they do in NY (although the ones in NY come from Mexico).

Funny story: I was walking down the promenade the other day after spinning and yoga (which means I was really sweaty), just minding my own business drinking a green juice… and I got flagged down by someone asking me to donate money for dying children. Of course I want to help dying children and all that, but it was one of those pay $25 a month things. I offered the guy 5 bucks, but he couldn’t take that. We started chatting about other things, and all of a sudden he looked at me and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear anything you just said. I couldn’t stop thinking about making babies with you.”

!!! Luckily, I thought he was funny….but geez. What a pickup line! Why is everyone here thinking I’m in my 20’s? I’m not complaining, it’s a compliment I think.

Anyway…that’s my story for the day …I’m off to finish cleaning so I can go pick out the perfect towels to go with my new shower curtain. I’m thinking cerulean (that’s kind of blue, right?).

So…..